A year ago almost to the day, the Information Coops unveiled a list of cities that have easy clicks on Amazon, based on tons of invoices obtained under the law on access to information. information. The period studied ran for 21 months, from January 2022 to September 2023.
The day after the publication of our survey, several mayors of cities performing poorly promised to do better. Did they keep their word?
To make sure, we again analyzed thousands of Amazon invoices obtained from the same cities. This time, the exercise targets only 10 months, between January 1 and October 31, 2024.
Trois-Rivières is among the biggest spenders, with a grand total of $31,900. The City of Mauricie spent as much in 10 months as in 21 months over the previous two years, while its Amazon bill totaled $31,444.63.
Padlocks, clothes, light bulbs, cleaning brushes, chargers: Trois-Rivières clicked on “order” approximately 300 times during the period studied.
Trois-Rivières says it is “very sensitive to the issue of local purchasing” and affirms that these purchases represent only a tiny part of the total bill for goods and services.
“The municipal administration also ensures sound management of public funds. This is why it can solicit suppliers from outside when local competitiveness is not there,” says the communications department, in a short written statement.
Its neighbor, Shawinigan, has chosen Amazon on rare occasions over the past year, for a total of $3,300, mainly on computer items. However, she spent $19,000 on cloud services on Amazon.
The worst…
Trois-Rivières is not the only city to have had easy clicks on Amazon in 2024.
The City of Gatineau, in Outaouais, is the one which has increased the rate of its online orders the most. She spent almost twice as much in 10 months as she did in 21 months.
Candy, tents, batteries, bags of popcorn, office equipment, computer items, tools: Gatineau placed 310 orders for a total of $55,000. However, she had spent $31,000 in 21 months, in 2022 and 2023.
The items obtained by Gatineau from the American giant are however not impossible to find in the businesses of the fourth largest city in Quebec. At the start of the year, Gatineau purchased umbrellas on Amazon. Bill amount: $422. In July, it was umbrellas, for $300.
The City of Gatineau affirms that a reflection was initiated over the last year and that a new policy will soon be in force.
In Estrie, the City of Magog has not changed its online shopping habits. Last year, the municipality which had spent $25,000 on Amazon in 21 months judged that this amount was “acceptable”. She continued this momentum, ordering more than $14,500 in 10 months.
“What we buy on Amazon are often products that are not available in stores, because there will be an inventory shortage for example,” indicated Magog communications director Claudia Fortin. , last year.
However, among the purchases made by the municipality in 2024, we find gardening tools, an electric scooter, headphones, mops, two filing cabinets, cell phone cases and calculators, among other things
…and the best
Other cities have instead slashed spending on Amazon in recent months. This is the case of Bromont, in Estrie, which spoke of a “wake-up call» upon learning that his administration was one of the biggest spenders on our list.
-The tourist municipality, which makes a point of praising local purchasing, had spent $55,000 on Amazon in 21 months, in 2022 and 2023. It instead purchased $16,700 worth of goods on Amazon in 10 months, last year.
Same observation in Granby, which went from $40,800 in expenses over 21 months to only $6,075 during the first 10 months of 2024.
The City of Lévis, crowned champion outside of Montreal in our list of the biggest spenders, with $139,000 in Amazon bills in 21 months, managed to reduce its purchases in 2024. However, it remains 15 times more spendy with the American giant of online commerce than its neighbor, Quebec.
On February 29, 2024, a few days after the publication of the report, Lévis sent a directive to all its procurement services so that online purchases would be limited, explains Mayor Gilles Lehouillier. He notes that this directive has borne fruit.
Quebec, which made it a point to buy on Amazon only if absolutely necessary three years ago, remains one of the cities that turn the least to the American online commerce giant. She placed 13 orders there for around $1,800 in 2024.
But Quebec is dethroned by another city, which has completely banned Amazon from its list of suppliers: Alma.
The municipality of Lac-Saint-Jean was not the biggest spender on the online shopping site. She had ordered there for a little more than $7,000, in 21 months, in 2022 and 2023. Alma completely shunned Amazon last year. Not a penny was spent on the American platform.
The mayor of Alma, Sylvie Beaumont, was proud to learn that her municipality was the only one not to have spent on Amazon in 2024. (Gimmy Desbiens /Archives Le Quotidien)
Mayor Sylvie Beaumont explains that a purchasing policy was quickly put in place after the publication of the report last year.
“The rules have been tightened. The text made us realize that it was possible to do better. And quickly, all purchases made on Amazon had to be approved by the city’s general management and they should only be made as a last resort,” underlines Ms. Beaumont, delighted to learn that the policy had “been applied to the letter”.
“We are not safe from a future purchase, but we will continue our efforts.”
— Sylvie Beaumont, mayor of Alma
The City of Saguenay has also reduced its online orders. She spent $7,200 in 10 months, while she had ordered for $26,300 in 2022 and 2023.
Just like Montreal, which went from $649,000 to $291,000 during the same periods.
Sherbrooke, which has long delays in processing requests for access to information, has still not responded to ours, three months after it was sent. Over 21 months, she had spent $85,000, which placed her among the biggest spenders on Amazon in our last ranking.
